Romantic Religion Book Reviews

Romantic Religion by R. J. Reilly Book Summary

The title Romantic Religion reflects Reilly’s premise that these four thinkers share a "matured romanticism." For them, creative imagination is central, with literary and religious views intimately related. Reilly devotes an insightful chapter to each of the writers and, in his conclusion, discusses their differences and similarities. Barfield fans will be especially impressed by the author’s ability to clarify Barfield’s famously condensed prose.  In a compelling new preface, Reilly considers the changing reputations of the four writers and their relevance for today’s readers. The book was first published, he tells us, during a war and horrendous societal dilemmas, not very different from those that plague the world today. Now, as then, says Reilly, the four writers remind us of “the possibility of a higher and saner life.” They remind us that “if we belong to the party not of memory but of hope, it is because we are imaginative beings and can imagine better beings and better worlds.”  This is the first study to examine in depth the theological and philosophic implications of the work of that remarkable group of writers now called the Oxford Christians. In focusing on the central religious concern of the group, R.J.Reilly provides and approach that is destined to become normative. This is not a work of convention literary biography (even less hagiography) or conventional literary history. Rather, it is intellectually informed criticism that makes possible a deep understanding of the enduring dimensions of the work of four of the most attractive and challenging writers of our time.

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Romantic Religion (R. J. Reilly) Book Reviews 2024

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